Cooling unit



COOLING UNIT Filed Oct. 24, 1952 flan/ZZZ KHes's.

INVENTOR HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 2, 1934 irED PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to certain novel improvements in cooling units, and has for its principal object the provision of an improved construction of this character which will be highly eflicient in use and economical in manufacture.

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An object of this invention is to provide a novel unit for coolin'g air in buildings.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, showing the preferred form of construction and in which:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing a typical unit embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional detail view on line 44 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, which illustrates a typical embodiment of the invention, diagrammatically indicated at is an evacuator of conventional design, which is connected to a so-called vacuum line or conduit 11. The vacuum line 11 is connected by branch pipes 12 to a bank of evaporators 13, each of which includes a fluid container body 28 and is provided with a series of heatabsorbing fins 14.

15 indicates a water or other fluid supply line in which is arranged a conventional float valve 16 having a housing 17 that communicates with the adjacent evaporator container body 28 by way of a branch pipe 18. Water from the supply line 15 passes through the float valve 16 and thence into the evaporator container bodies 28, which are interconnected by a series of pipes 19.

Arranged in the bottom of each evaporator container body 28 is an air valve, generally indicated at 20, and having a needle stem 21 which is threaded into a valve housing 22 formed integral with the removable bottom 26 of each evaporation container body 28. An air inlet 23 opens into each valve housing 22 and opening out of each housing 22 into the corresponding evaporator container body 28 is an outlet 24, passage through which is controlled by the needle stem 21. Arranged in each evaporator container body 28 over the corresponding air outlet 24 is an inverted porous cup 25, and each of these cups 25 is held in place by a flanged portion 2'7 which is arranged between the bottom 26 and the vertical wall of the corresponding evaporator container body 28. These cups may be made of any suitable material such as, for example, clay or wire gauze.

In use, the water supply line 15 is opened and the evaporator container bodies are filled to a point close to the top of each. The evacuator 10 is then started and a partial vacuum is thereby formed in the line 11, to reduce the air pressure in the line 11 below the vapor pressure of the Water in the evaporators 13, whereupon the water in the evaporators begins to evaporate, absorbing its heat of vaporization through the fins 14 from the surrounding atmosphere, which is thereby cooled. As the water level in the evaporators falls the float in the valve 16 drops, automatically opening the supply line 15 to keep the water level in the evaporators substantially constant.

The rate of evaporation of. water from the evaporators 13 is greatly increased by the flow of air bubbles through the water columns since as these bubbles pass through the water columns they present in the aggregate a relatively large surface area to the water and absorb a considerable quantity of water as they flow up through the water columns. This rate of evaporation is increased by the fact that the air bubbles have a relatively low humidity as they enter the water columns due to their expansion.

The outlet 29 of the evacuator may be directed indoors if it is desired to supply humid air to a room or building, or outdoors, if it is desired not to supply a room or building with humid air.

When the evacuator is not in operation, the air valves 20 may be closed to prevent leakage from th outlets 23; or if it is desired, the air valves 20 may be allowed to remain open to drain the evaporators, whereupon the bottoms 16 of the evaporators may be unscrewed and removed so that the evaporators may be cleaned of any sediment or deposit that may accumulate therein.

While Iliave illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into' effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention. 1, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: Y

1. A cooling unit comprising the combination of an evaporator including a fluid container body having external heat-absorbing fins, an evacuator, a conduit interconnecting the evacuator and the evaporator, a fluid supply line opening into duit interconnecting the evacuator and the evaporators, a fluid supply line opening into the evaporators, a float control valve in the supply line, an air admission valve in the bottom of each evaporator container body, and an inverted porous cup arranged in the bottom of each container body over the corresponding air admission valve.

DAVID K. mes. 

